Five elements of planning a ritual.
I spent yesterday at church for the celebration of the Fires of Lughnasadh. It's my coming out ritual (my first public ritual after deciding to follow a more pagan, goddess centered path) so I make it a point to go every year. Some are better than other. I would have to rank this year as the second best I'd attended but, without explaining what happens and why this one was better than most (which is not the topic of this post) you'd have to take my word for it.
There was a workshop presented by Raven and his partner, Rae on the five steps to planning an effective ritual. Since I like planning and participating in the formal aspects of magical ritual work, I thought I'd share them here. I will point out that I was the only one taking notes even if it was simply writing key words in the dirt between my feet.
As in all magical workings, the first and arguably the most important step is to know your INTENT. Know what it is you want the ritual to accomplish whether it is the celebration of some event, the blessing and sanctification of something or the empowerment of an object or person. Once ones intent is known, the rest of the ritual build upon that aspect and the framework begins to take shape.
Once the intent is known, the SPACE needs to be considered. There are a couple of limitation you have to think about when contemplating where to have the ritual. Material limitation include things like capacity, material components and individual physical limitations. Spiritual limitations may be the level or tradition of experience of the participants. Combining tradition is fine but when you do, it is best to work with the techniques the traditions share to make it a smoother rite.
With the intent and the space requirements addressed, you can now turn you attention to the source of the power and ENERGY you will be using. Internal methods of driving up energy include things like drumming, chanting, singing, sex and visualization. Invoking spirits, entities and Deity are examples of using external methods to provide the power for your rites.
It is now time to think about how to accomplish the FULFILLMENT of your intent. This is the culminating act that will bind the energy you have drawn into the space to the original intent of the ritual. This is usually some symbolic creation or representation. It could be something as simple as focusing your energy into a paper with your intent written on it or as elaborate as a corn doll to hold the power of the ritual.
After the work has been done it is time to RELEASE the energy drawn down. This is where all of the power poured into the focus during the fulfillment is sent out to do the work needed to address your intent. Some classic release techniques are burning, burying and visualizing (usually accompanied by some vocal cue). This step also includes grounding any unused energy or dismissing and devoking any entities or personalities you have invited to attend the rite.
So by knowing your INTENT and the limitation of your SPACE, you can decide how you will raise the ENERGY to accomplish the FULFILLMENT of the ritual before RELEASING that energy into the world to work on your INTENT. Now it's time to draw up the outline of your rite.
Though I didn't get a chance to thank Raven and Rae in person, I want to express my gratitude for their efforts both here and in spirit.
There was a workshop presented by Raven and his partner, Rae on the five steps to planning an effective ritual. Since I like planning and participating in the formal aspects of magical ritual work, I thought I'd share them here. I will point out that I was the only one taking notes even if it was simply writing key words in the dirt between my feet.
As in all magical workings, the first and arguably the most important step is to know your INTENT. Know what it is you want the ritual to accomplish whether it is the celebration of some event, the blessing and sanctification of something or the empowerment of an object or person. Once ones intent is known, the rest of the ritual build upon that aspect and the framework begins to take shape.
Once the intent is known, the SPACE needs to be considered. There are a couple of limitation you have to think about when contemplating where to have the ritual. Material limitation include things like capacity, material components and individual physical limitations. Spiritual limitations may be the level or tradition of experience of the participants. Combining tradition is fine but when you do, it is best to work with the techniques the traditions share to make it a smoother rite.
With the intent and the space requirements addressed, you can now turn you attention to the source of the power and ENERGY you will be using. Internal methods of driving up energy include things like drumming, chanting, singing, sex and visualization. Invoking spirits, entities and Deity are examples of using external methods to provide the power for your rites.
It is now time to think about how to accomplish the FULFILLMENT of your intent. This is the culminating act that will bind the energy you have drawn into the space to the original intent of the ritual. This is usually some symbolic creation or representation. It could be something as simple as focusing your energy into a paper with your intent written on it or as elaborate as a corn doll to hold the power of the ritual.
After the work has been done it is time to RELEASE the energy drawn down. This is where all of the power poured into the focus during the fulfillment is sent out to do the work needed to address your intent. Some classic release techniques are burning, burying and visualizing (usually accompanied by some vocal cue). This step also includes grounding any unused energy or dismissing and devoking any entities or personalities you have invited to attend the rite.
So by knowing your INTENT and the limitation of your SPACE, you can decide how you will raise the ENERGY to accomplish the FULFILLMENT of the ritual before RELEASING that energy into the world to work on your INTENT. Now it's time to draw up the outline of your rite.
Though I didn't get a chance to thank Raven and Rae in person, I want to express my gratitude for their efforts both here and in spirit.